THE ONLY ONE
by Odd Tailor
Summary: Chii is given a chance to be with her only one, even after his death
1. Default Chapter

LOSS  
  
"Will you still choose to be with him?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Even if you cannot fully be the one for him?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Even when you go on but he ceases to be?"  
  
"Yes, for he is the only one for me and he makes me happy."  
  
"Even if your happiness will never be complete?"  
  
"I....Yes."  
  
-----------------------------======================------------------------- ----------  
  
It was raining today. Not a downpour but a constant precipitation that bordered between a mild shower and sleet. There were but a few people congregated around a freshly filled-in grave in this cemetery just on the outskirts of the city. Most of those who knew the recently departed man had already gone ahead and only three people were left: a woman, a young girl and a respectable-looking man who looked to be in his late fifties. Their garb was not unusual; the man was in a black suit which would lead an ordinary person to conclude that he would've been a well-off individual. The comely woman was wearing a black dress and she too, looked wealthy while the third; an attractive young lady, was wearing something similar albeit in a smaller size. If one would look closer, the newer headstone was near to three others of identical design though these were slightly weathered.  
  
"He is gone, isn't he?" asked the young lady.  
  
"Yes, he is," replied the man as the three walked away from the graves.  
  
"What will happen to me?" continued the young lady.  
  
"I've arranged it so that you can come live with us. You'll be staying at the mansion from now on. That is, if you agree to it," replied the man.  
  
"I think it would be a wonderful idea. There is no one there at the apartment-complex save for the three of you," added the older woman.  
  
"I've bought the whole lot and building anyway so you're free to stay there indefinitely if you haven't decided yet. Just call when you've made up your mind, okay? I'll have the driver bring you over there before going to the mansion. I still have a meeting to attend this afternoon," the man stated.  
  
They proceeded to where two cars were parked and the man entered the first one while the two women waited for a while as the older one helped the younger out of her veil.  
  
"I'll be late so you won't have to prepare dinner," stated the man as he closed the vehicle's door.  
  
"I'll call you before I go home though. Take good care, okay?" the man added as his features softened somewhat and his vehicle departed.  
  
The two women boarded the other vehicle and this too, moved off.  
  
"You still need time to decide? I was hoping you'd agree to his suggestion," the older woman began.  
  
"I'm sorry if I seemed lukewarm to his idea but please don't get me wrong. I DO think that it would be the best arrangement for all of us. Anyway, I'd still need to put away his.OUR belongings and sort which ones will be stored away for good," replied the younger one.  
  
It wasn't hard for the older woman to see the extreme sadness in her younger counterpart's eyes as she mentioned sorting through her belongings. But this sorrow, great as it was, seemed muted if not held back. Indeed, the younger woman was holding back her tears and the older one's thought went to when HER time to do the same would come. She decided to shake the thought away for now. It would come soon and that was the fact but for now, such a sad duty fell upon the younger one's shoulders.  
  
The conversation went silent as the rest of the trip went by and soon, the car was turning into the street where the younger one currently lived.  
  
"We're here. I hope you'll be okay. I can have you fetched anytime you want. Just give me a call, okay?", stated the older woman.  
  
The younger one was about to alight from the car when she stopped and held her hand to her chest.  
  
"It..it.it hurts so much! He's gone! Gone for good!" wailed the younger woman as her resolve not to cry broke down and the tears started to flow freely.  
  
The older woman could say nothing to placate her companion and could only hold her as she cried.  
  
"Just let it all out, dear. Let it all out. You'll feel better if you do. There's nothing we can do about it. He's gone. All we can do now is move on with our lives. I know it's hard but we have to do so." the older woman replied as her own tears started to flow.  
  
"I..I..Yuzuki...Chii!!!!" was all the younger woman could say as she lost all words that could express her sorrow. But the older woman knew, that this one word said it all 


	2. Chapter 2

HOPE  
  
Chii slowly ascended the flight of stairs that led to her room. Each step was filled with so much emotion and pain as she traced every step she and Hideki took and recalled each and every memory that this place still held for her. She finally made it to her room and entered it, slowly closing the door as it clicked into place. She ran her hands over each panel of the wall; each mat on the floor as she remembered waking up inside this room after Hideki activated her for the first time. She then sat down by the window where she usually stayed when waiting for Hideki to come home. Most of the things were already in their respective boxes already and all that was left to do was to seal the few that remained open as there were still a few things that she had to put away. The two mobile-persocoms, Sumomo and Kotoko were at the mansion already as she instructed them to go ahead. Chii stood up and opened the cabinet where Hideki stored his favorite "side- dishes" as Sumomo would call them. A major number of the magazines had seen better days and most were fit to be thrown away now as they had stayed untouched in the cabinet after Hideki had gone to college. To others, it was simply a collection of porn-magazines but to Chii, they were a treasure to be stored, if only for the memory of Hideki.  
  
But since there were issues that had either been water-damaged or faded already, Chii had no choice but to throw these away. After a few minutes, she had two stacks of magazines that she would take down to the dumping area outside the compound. Even that dumping-ground held a cherished memory for Chii for it was where Hideki first found her.  
  
She was back in her room after dumping the magazines. After a thorough examination, Chii found out that she still needed one more box to store her own belongings which were mostly dresses and her own collection of the magazine which she didn't know until now, were actually written by her "mother" Chitose Hibiya. Chii recalled that her mother stored a dozen or so unused boxes in the broom-closet of her own room. Rm101. She went up in order to retrieve the boxes.  
  
Upon entering, Chii turned on the light and searched for the broom-closet. She had accidentally flicked another switch and she heard a slight humming as a panel opened from the floor. She examined it and found that it had a flight of stairs going down. There seemed to be machinery that was still running so she decided to go in investigate.  
  
Chii found herself in a big room where there were a lot of displays and a 360 degree console with a helmet-interface. She had stumbled into her late mother's personal laboratory. Her curiosity got the better of her and she was about to investigate the controls when the systems hummed to life and a hologram appeared on the chair in the middle of the room. When the image cleared-up, Chii saw a person she never expected to see: her mother, Chitose Hibiya.  
  
"Chii," uttered the hologram of Ms. Hibiya.  
  
"Mo-mother?!!" was all Chii could say as she gazed at her mother's image.  
  
"Yes, it's me," the image replied.  
  
"How-how is this possible..?" Chii continued.  
  
"I know this seems surprising for you so I'll explain," replied the holographic Hibiya and the hologram went on to explain how and why it was activated.  
  
"If you're viewing this, it means that I have died and most likely, Hideki has died too. My system calendar tells me that it has been almost fifty years since Hideki reactivated you. I assume that you're alone now save for Minoru and Yuzuki, right? Anyway, I can tell that all these "departures" have not gone well with you especially that of Hideki's death so I prepared for this event," the hologram began.  
  
"Prepared? You prepared for this? What do you mean, mother?" Chii asked.  
  
"Yes, I've indeed made arrangements for this day. As you now know, Persocoms especially a CHOBIT like you are almost immortal save for any debilitating accident or a hardware failure. But if none of these mishaps occur, a persocom will look the same as the day it was turned on and can go on and on with its life. But unfortunately, humans like me and Hideki do not have those options. When we age, our bodies deteriorate as we get older and when we have lived our normal expected life-span, we humans die. You can imagine how hard it was for me when your "father" died, for he was MY one and only as Hideki was to you," holographic Hibiya continued as Chii nodded in assent.  
  
"Our only comfort as humans, is the knowledge that if ever our loved one passes away ahead of us, we'll soon follow. Maybe not immediately but eventually and then we can be reunited. But such is not the case for Persocoms," the hologram added. It paused, with a matching facial expression and anyone who was well-versed with programming would marvel at the AI's seeming sentience.  
  
"Even a non-CHOBIT persocom develops an attachment to its owner. Yours is much deeper thus, much worse especially after your OS was upgraded when you found Hideki: your 'only one'. Your emotions are more complete now especially after all this time so I knew that Hideki's death will hit you hard. It's because of this that I set about making sure that you wouldn't be alone when all of the humans in your life are gone," added the holo- Hibiya.  
  
Chii felt anxious at the hologram's words. Of the humans she knew, only Minoru remained alive now. Yumi was still alive though she had moved to another area with her children after her husband, Ueda, died. The confectionery remained open but this was due to Minoru buying it for Chii so that she would at least have a semblance of her old routine and he had a few people running it with Chii. Minoru himself was already approaching his sixties and Chii often heard him mumbling about how he wasn't as healthy as he used to be whenever he and Yuzuki came to visit. But what did holo- Hibiya mean by her last sentence?  
  
A few commands scrolled quickly down a screen off to Chii's left and she heard a few more systems come to life. A key was blinking red on the console immediately below it while the screen displayed a message saying all systems were ready and was waiting for the command to execute.  
  
"Chii, please press that blinking button on the console," the holo-Hibiya requested. Chii did as she was asked and she stepped back after pressing it.  
  
The additional systems hummed and Chii could almost hear the countless servos that were running. The activity reached a pitch and then suddenly ceased. Chii heard a system message declare that the process was complete and a panel opened in the wall that was near the screen. A few more panels opened from the wall and Chii could barely make out a figure suspended by wires and cables from the ceiling. A few more servos hummed into operation and the figure was slowly moved out of the recess into the light.  
  
"Initiate final scans and internal systems check," ordered the holo-Hibiya,  
  
"Initiating diagnostic-program.......querying internal systems for synapse- response and system-integrity.............scans and diagnostics complete. No anomalies or inconsistencies found. Construct awaiting final instructions," declared the system's vocal-alert.  
  
The holo-Hibiya executed a few commands then turned its attention back to Chii while the whole operation was being executed.  
  
"I meant to tell you about this but there simply wasn't enough time. I myself had only learnt of the possibility after I had turned forty-five. The whole process would take twenty or thirty years to complete as I lacked a number of major parts that were necessary for the completion of this process. I chose to go ahead with the operation," explained the holo- Hibiya.  
  
The cables and wires attached to the figure were detached one by one and it was soon lying on the prep-table that projected out of another area in the wall.  
  
"Constructing a new unit was not the problem but it was more of how to program it successfully but in the end, your father showed me the way," holo-Hibiya explained.  
  
"Father did?" Chii inquired. The holo-Hibiya nodded in assent.  
  
"Chii, this is my final gift to you as your mother. I'd like you to meet my latest and last CHOBIT-series persocom: Hideki Motusawa," declared the holo- Hibiya as the lights fully exposed the figure lying on the table. 


	3. Chapter 3

DECISIONS & AWAKENINGS  
  
"Hi-Hideki Motusawa?!! You created a persocom-copy of Chii's..my only one, mother?!!" Chii asked with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. Extreme emotional states wreaked a bit of havoc with her upgraded consciousness thus she was shifting back to her old way of referring to herself. The holo- Hibiya nodded in assent and went on to explain.  
  
"This wasn't deliberate on my part, mind you. It was after we had celebrated my forty-fifth birthday when I stumbled upon it. You and Hideki went off for a vacation with your friends in Hokkaido a few days after that and I was left alone here in the complex. I decided then that it would be the ideal time to do some remodeling and refurbishing of the apartments since there would be no one who'd be disturbed. I was here running some diagnostics on this equipment when an e-mail came. It looked ordinary but one of the attachments was quite huge for a compressed file. I opened the smaller one after making sure there were no viruses or malicious content. It turned out to be a recorded message from my late husband, the one who created you and Freya," the holo-Hibiya began. Chii was nothing but amazed at what she was hearing.  
  
*flashback  
  
"Systems-scan 67% complete; continuing with the deep-level diagnostics," declared the system's vocal alert.  
  
"Good. Proceed to Level-2 scans after completion," Hibiya replied.  
  
"Systems-scan 69% complete. Level-2 scans to execute in approximately forty- five minutes...incoming message with attachments. Do you wish to open the file?" stated the system.  
  
"E-mail? Who could've sent this?" Hibiya asked herself.  
  
"Any address?" Hibiya asked.  
  
"None. Security-scans indicate no harmful content. Two attachments in total: do you wish to proceed?" the system added.  
  
Hibiya gave her permission and the system opened the first attachment. A small display on the screen opened and revealed the face of her late husband.  
  
"Greetings, my dearest! Surprised to see me?" her husband asked.  
  
"He-he-he. No need to panic. Yes, it's me. I'll explain the details so calm yourself down. Now, if you're viewing this, it means that the project I initiated has reached fruition and is successful. I've been concurrently working on this even as we're developing our CHOBITS series of persocoms. I hope you are well. I've only finished developing this process and the rest will be up to you. But one thing I want to share with you is this: I've done it and this process works!" Hibiya's late husband continued.  
  
*end flashback  
  
The holo-Hibiya continued with her explanations to Chii. It turns out that her husband had been working with a team of medical specialists whom he consulted in order to verify the synapse performance of the CHOBITS-series of persocoms he and his own team were developing. After verifying and praising his work, the head of the medical team proposed a radical idea to her husband about the possibility of using the persocoms as repositories of the human consciousness for people who may have experienced massive trauma/injuries to the head. Suffice to say that Dr. Chitose her husband, was excited about it and he was soon rapt in a discussion with the head of the medical team as they threshed out their ideas. All in all, it was highly possible to do such a transfer. The major problem lay in the fact that even though the human-brain had been mapped out physically, mapping out the human mind that is, sentience or consciousness was yet to be achieved. Dr. Chitose promised that he and his team would incorporate this new angle into the development of the CHOBITS series. He dedicated an entire server-platform to working out this possibility. Unfortunately, Dr. Chitose, his wife Hibiya, and the rest of his team found themselves at odds with their benefactors and the whole project was cancelled with only Freya being created. But through all this, no one remembered that the server running the virtual-experiments for the consciousness-transfer was still active. Dr. Chitose discovered such only after he had created Elda, his second CHOBIT-persocom. He now had a program that enabled a computer to map out the human MIND and where to store it in a positronic-matrix. He soon went about assembling a setup that would do just that and this would prove to be his undoing as he had overexerted himself. Dr. Chitose would never see his project get completed for he would die early. But before he did, he was able to record the message and save the finished schematics which he compressed and it was these that came as attachments. Hibiya then viewed the schematics after finishing with the recorded message and she found highly intricate and complex plans for an encephalo-scanner/conduit device. She then set about reassembling her late husband's unfinished equipment and it took her almost five years working alone to finish the device. But as she was about to install the program, a thought came to her: who would make a good test-subject? She wasn't about to present the idea to people or the government who might just end up abusing it so she wasn't keen on pursuing that angle. She decided to put things on hold until she could decide.  
  
It was after another five years when Hibiya finally chose to continue the project and found her test subject: Hideki Motusawa. He and Chii had just left her room after spending some time showing her their photo-collection of their various trips and activities. As they stood up to leave, Hideki almost slipped but she and Chii caught him. Hideki thanked her as he righted himself and as he stood up, Hibiya noticed how he had matured into a fine young man. This elated her at first but as she observed Chii, she noted that Chii remained physically the same compared to Hideki and this observation sobered her. Chii WOULD outlive her mother and her ONLY ONE and Chii would be left alone. Hibiya could not be sure how a persocom like Chii would handle something like this. Later that night, Hibiya hit upon a plan. She would copy Hideki's mind gradually; in stages. She then went about making the necessary adjustments to the program parameters in order to allow her to do just that.  
  
"So you copied Hideki's mind every now and then, mother?" Chii asked.  
  
"Yes. The other attachment was the program your father wrote which enabled me to do so." Holo-Hibiya replied.  
  
"When did you do it? I never saw Hideki going in to this room the whole time we were still together," Chii asked.  
  
The holo-Hibiya almost giggled a bit but went onto explain. Every so often, she would ask Hideki to help her with something or with any task that she claimed she was unable to accomplish herself or even ask him over to have a light chat about how things were. She served him tea laced with a powerful tranquilizer which would knock him out but only for a limited time. Hibiya had to be discreet in doing such so as not to be noticed by either him or Chii.  
  
"All in all, I was able to copy his mind periodically for about ten times and this was over a twenty-year period until my actual death. I recorded this message after the last time I copied Hideki's mind. I tweaked the hologram of course, so that it would be more familiar for you," holo-Hibiya added.  
  
Chii took some time to digest all of this that had been revealed to her by her late mother. Right before her was a CHOBIT-persocom who, for all intents and purposes, would become Hideki not only in form but in mind as well. Chii was unsure of what to do for now.  
  
"Everything is ready and all that needs to be done is to transfer Hideki's mind into the persocom. Chii, I will ask you one more time; do you want him? If not, I will cancel the transfer, delete the files and discard the persocom," holo-Hibiya asked.  
  
Chii was searching her thoughts and feelings. Would he be like Hideki in every way or not? Worse, would he even accept what he would become?  
  
"Well?" queried the holo-Hibiya.  
  
"Looking at the persocom's face, Chii touched it. She then sighed and turned to her mother's hologram.  
  
"Yes mother, I do want him," Chi replied.  
  
The holo-Hibiya smiled, then executed the transfer.  
  
*P-Hideki's POV, 50% files transferred. P=persocom  
  
{"Eh? Where am I?"}  
  
{" A bed; no.., a table. A cold table! Brrrrr! I'm lying on a cold table! What does this mean? I'm dead? No! I can't be! Chi and I have just had our anniversary-dinner!" }  
  
{ "Eh? I can't move, either. Who's that talking? }  
  
"His memories are complete but only until his sixty-third birthday, Chii. But the OS I've installed will rectify that. One more thing you have to know, he is a CHOBIT-series2 model," holo-Hibiya stated.  
  
"Does that mean he's more advanced than me, mother?" Chii asked. Holo- Hibiya nodded.  
  
{ "Ms. Hibiya! And Chii! What in the world is going on? Wait a minute, CHOBIT series2?!! I'm a persocom?" }  
  
P-Hideki's thought were interrupted when he heard a vocal-alert stating that all files were completely installed and all adjustments were installed as well.  
  
{ "Adjustments? What the....oh. It's been fifty years since Ms Hibiya died. Does that mean that I'm.....dead too?" }  
  
"Connect your cable to the console on your left, Chii. You'll download your memories of the years after I died," holo-Hibiya instructed.  
  
P-Hideki felt the flood of incoming memories and could only watch. He felt himself stand up from the table and saw Chii with the holographic Hibiya.  
  
{ "She's still so beautiful after all this time," }  
  
"Everything is almost done. All you need to do now is input your password," holo-Hibiya instructed.  
  
"Password, mother?" Chii asked.  
  
"He IS a persocom after all, dear," Holo-Hibiya replied.  
  
{ "Password? Oh no! Please choose a nice one, Chii!" }  
  
Chii searched long and hard within her mind and heart for the appropriate password. This was her Hideki, right in front of her. Again. A persocom he was now but still her Hideki. A few more minutes and CHii finally came to a fitting password.  
  
"I have one, mother," Chii declared. The holo-Hibiya sent a few commands which made the persocom approach Chii.  
  
{ "I'm walking towards Chii! And I'm...I'm...naked!!!" Eeeeeepp!" }  
  
"Please input password." Declared the persocom-Hideki flatly.  
  
Looking to her mother then back to P-Hideki, Chii declared the password.  
  
"Password is.....'SIDE-DISH'!" Chii announced.  
  
{ "What?!!!! 'SIDE-DISH" ?!!!! What kind of a password is that?!!!! No! I don't accept it! No!!! Aaaarrgghh!!!" }  
  
But it was too late as P-Hideki heard himself declare that password had been accepted.  
  
Chii looked at P-Hideki with great anticipation and anxiety as she noted the change in P-Hideki;s pupils, indicating initial boot-up. When it was done, P-Hideki focused his eyes on her and walked to her. Chii was ecstatic and nervous as P-Hideki took her face into his hands and smiled. It was the sweetest smile she had long wanted to see so much. It was him! Her Hideki! Her only one had returned. She smiled and expected to be kissed or caressed when she felt him place left hand under her chin and his right hand on her head, causing her to close her eyes. She was surprised however when P- Hideki mussed her hair instead. She opened her eyes then saw his face with one eyebrow raised and wearing an amused look.  
  
"SIDE-DISH? Couldn't you have chosen a much better password, Chii?" P- Hideki asked.  
  
Chii about to ask what was wrong but she was silenced when P-Hideki's face softened again and he kissed her gently. 


	4. Chapter 4

ADJUSTMENTS  
  
Chii could only sob softly into P-Hideki's shoulder as he embraced her after that kiss. She couldn't believe it. She had just attended his funeral and now Hideki, her only one, was back in her life. A persocom he was, but in her heart she needed no further proof that this WAS Hideki. Her tears flowed freely as she deepened her embrace. She was about to relish the moment more when P-Hideki suddenly held her shoulders.  
  
"Eh? Oh my god! I'm naked! Yyaaaaaaa!!!" P-Hideki screamed as he suddenly ran about the room, looking for something to cover himself.  
  
Holo-Hibiya couldn't believe what she saw. Apparently, the consciousness- transfer process was more successful and thorough than she originally expected as Hideki-persocom was acting a LOT like the Hideki of old. Her musings were cut short as P-Hideki ran into a wall and knocked himself out.  
  
"Clothes.....I need clothes. Must not let Chii see me like this...." P-Hideki mumbled as he passed out.  
  
Chii was dumbfounded by what transpired and was standing idly where she and P-Hideki were embracing just mere moments ago. She let out a sigh then proceeded to help P-Hideki up and take him to his old room. She was almost at the stairs when Holo-Hibiya called out to her.  
  
"Chii?"  
  
"Yes, mother?"  
  
"I advise you to keep a close watch on Hideki. Take good care of him as he learns to adjust to a new life as a persocom. No one else can show him better than you," Holo-Hibiya advised.  
  
Chii nodded in assent then took P-Hideki out of the chamber.  
  
About three hours passed before P-Hideki regained consciousness. He immediately sat upright as his vision cleared.  
  
"Where am I? I'm....I'm in my room! And I'm dressed!" P-Hideki remarked to himself.  
  
He did a quick scan of his surroundings and what he saw confirmed his suspicions. Indeed, he was back in his old room, the one he rented upon first arriving in Tokyo for prep-school. A quick mental calculation with internal calendar and P-Hideki realized why everything looked old.  
  
"Are you alright, Hideki?" Chii asked.  
  
P-Hideki turned to Chii and nodded in reply. He was about to start a conversation when he looked past Chii and saw the various boxes gathered on one side of the room. Most were sealed already and seemed ready for transport save for two which were still open. P-Hideki stood up and approached the two unsealed boxes. He saw that the second box was actually reopened and this was filled with his old clothes. A chilly breeze blew in and he felt drafty and as P-Hideki went to close the window, he saw that the clothes he was currently wearing were quite worn and the shirt actually has a hole eaten into it, presumably by a moth.  
  
"You were about to move out, huh? And you kept all of my things, Chii?" P- Hideki asked Chii to which she just nodded in assent.  
  
P-Hideki went to inspect the other box and his face turned red as he saw the contents: his collection of "hentai" magazines or rather the remaining copies that were still intact.  
  
"I see. Whoa! You even kept these," P-Hideki stated albeit embarrassedly.  
  
"Those are Hideki's.....your treasures and they are mine as well," Chii added.  
  
P-Hideki could only look at Chii in awe at what she just said. Her vernacular skill had improved greatly and even though he was yet to recall every memory of the past thirty or more years, he knew that it wouldn't be surprising to learn he'd been the one who taught her that. He found a better pair of pants and shirt to change into then turned towards the door.  
  
"I'll just change into something better, Chii. Don't go anywhere......eh?" P- Hideki was cut short as he felt Chii grab his hand as he was heading for the door.  
  
"I....I....please don't leave me, Hideki. I want to be with you," Chii said as she looked at him in earnest.  
  
P-Hideki saw the immense sadness that still lingered in Chii as he looked into her eyes. He couldn't bring himself to deny her that simple request. He almost forgot the fact that he just died quite recently and were it not for this sudden development, Chii was getting ready to live a life without him.  
  
"Okay, Chii. Let's go to Ms. Hibiya's room so I can use the full-length mirror there," P-Hideki declared so that the moment's tension could be relieved.  
  
A few short steps and the two were in Ms. Hibiya's quarters. P-Hideki was inside the bathroom changing his clothes while Chii waited by the door. He set the newer clothes on the dressing-table and then proceeded to disrobe. P-Hideki was surprised as he unwiitingly found himself facing the mirror of a medicine cabinet. His face: this was the first time he saw his face as a persocom and what he saw was nothing short of amazing. He looked the way he did when he first came to Gabu Jogasaki. He was almost lost in awe when he saw the clothes he was wearing: they were the same set of clothes he often wore to prep-school before.  
  
"No wonder they look so worn," P-Hideki noted.  
  
A quick-change and he exited the bathroom.  
  
"I'm done changing, Chii. How do I look?" P-Hideki asked.  
  
Chii looked at him, eyeing him from head to foot. She was still at a loss for words so she showed her appreciation the only way she knew how.  
  
"Well Chii, what do you think? I look like I haven't aged a day, right?" This is pretty amazing, I have to say. Don't you agree..........mmmmmppphhh....!!!" was all P-Hideki could say as he found Chii's lips locked onto his own, silencing him. He was surprised but he soon settled into it.  
  
They stayed that way for a few minutes, each relishing an experience that had long become impossible when Hideki got too old and too frail. P-Hideki realized that he couldn't recall the memory of his old age. He remembered hearing the holo-Hibiya saying something like how she was unable to record the last ten or twenty years or so of Hideki's....his life when she was still alive so the memories would remain incomplete. He wondered how much impact such a lack would make on his new life as a persocom. His thoughts were interrupted when Chii broke the kiss and nuzzled into his shoulders.  
  
"There now Chii, I missed you too," P-Hideki soothed.  
  
"Hey, if that's what I get every time I change my clothes now, I'm going to have to keep changing into new ones every so often!" P-Hideki teased.  
  
"I just missed you so much, that's all. If that's the way you'll show appreciation over it, then I guess I shouldn't bother you at all," Chii teased back as she wiped away her tears and turned away from P-Hideki.  
  
Chii was about to walk away from P-Hideki to add to the teasing when P- Hideki suddenly froze in his tracks just as he was about to follow her and scoop her into his arms. An overhead beam was giving way due to wear and tear and unfortunately, Chii was right smack under it.  
  
"Chii! Look Out!" P-Hideki screamed with great panic in his voice as he realized he wouldn't reach her in time.  
  
The next few seconds would prove to be mind-boggling for P-Hideki. He felt like he suddenly lost conscious-control of himself and he could only register that his body was moving really fast; rushing towards Chii. He saw how he grabbed Chii and then rolled themselves away from the collapsing rubble. He felt complete control return when everything quieted down.  
  
"Are you okay, Chii?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, I am," she replied.  
  
P-Hideki was lost in thought as they returned to his old room. He knew he would be too late to save Chii from getting hurt but he knew that he was suddenly moving really fast.  
  
"How in the world did I do that?" P-Hideki mused. He would've gone on thinking if not for a sudden sensation that he felt in himself. His stomach rumbled.  
  
"Eh? I must be hungry. Chii, is there anything to eat around here? I'm quite hungry," P-Hideki stated.  
  
"I'll go down and buy something from a convenience-store. A newer one opened near here about three years ago. Would you like one or two bowls of ramen?" Chii asked.  
  
"Make it three. I'm really hungry!" P-Hideki replied.  
  
He watched as Chii went out then watched her as she walked out of the compound.  
  
"Man, but I am really starving! I hope she comes back really quick. Oh, well....let's see.... What can I do in the meantime?" P-Hideki thought to himself.  
  
He decided to sort through his clothes so that the reasonably better ones weren't stored away. He then proceeded to seal up the other remaining unsealed box. He saw the various magazines that he'd collected over the years, quickly scanning those favorite issues that were intact. He had to chuckle to himself as he recalled how Chii often referred to these magazines as his "side-dishes" and even Sumomo and Kotoko did the same. He made a mental note of how he had to remind Chii to change his password to something else other than "SIDE DISH". His amusement died down as he realized that something was odd with what he had just been thinking about. He was a persocom now; the password and recent incident in Ms. Hibiya's quarters would attest to that. So why was it that he felt hungry? In all the time he and Chii were together, he remembered that Chii never ate. Yuzuki didn't, Sumomo didn't, in fact he remembered Shinbo scolding him about his forgetting to recharge Chii in the sunlight or from a power- outlet when he first found her. Persocoms did NOT eat to get energy. So why WAS he hungry? His stomach rumbled anew as Chii returned from the store bearing three cups of instant noodles to which Chii already added hot water and a few meat-filled buns.  
  
"Here you go, Hideki. I hope you like these," Chii beamed as she served him the food.  
  
"Th-thanks, Chii," he said as he sat down on the floor beside a small serving table that Chii undoubtedly retrieved from storage on the way back.  
  
P-Hideki looked at the ramen and buns, not quite sure of what to do with them. He was about to say something when the aroma of the food wafted into his nose, making his mouth water and his stomach rumble even more. P-Hideki dug in.  
  
The meal was finished almost immediately and soon, P-Hideki was sitting contentedly near the window.  
  
"Did you like the food, Hideki?" Chii asked.  
  
"Yes I did, Chii. Thanks!" he replied even as his smile lessened somewhat.  
  
"Are you sure? You suddenly seem serious," Chii added.  
  
"I do, don't I?" P-Hideki asked to which Chii nodded.  
  
"Well, the food was great but that's just it. I'm a persocom now. I'm not supposed to eat anymore nor feel hunger at all, right?" P-Hideki declared. His slight confusion was heightened by a sudden burp that followed his statement.  
  
He and Chii laughed after he burped. Chii however, was thinking about what P-Hideki just said and she agreed that it was quite strange for a persocom to do all those things.  
  
"And not just that. Do you remember just this afternoon when we were in your mother quarters? I thought I wouldn't reach you in time but I was able to save you," P-Hideki added.  
  
Chii could only nod I agreement at what P-Hideki said. She recalled seeing the panic in his eyes as the collapsed beam was falling towards her. P- Hideki's eyes changed in a split-second into something odd yet familiar as he suddenly got faster and saved her. She was thinking about where she had seen that look but couldn't quite recall. Indeed, Chii would be unable to recall any incident like that at all as back then, she was the reason why other persocoms' eyes would change as they zoned out in a way whenever someone tried to touch her in the way that only Hideki should. P-Hideki however, did remember those incidents especially that time when Dragonfly kidnapped Chii. He then came to a decision and got up.  
  
"Well, I'm tired. The day is practically over so we'd best get ready to call it a night. We have to fix that collapsed beam tomorrow, right Chii?" P-Hideki declared.  
  
They soon tidied up. P-Hideki was rolling out the sleeping mats and blankets while Chii fluffed up their pillows. P-Hideki was caught off-guard when Chii asked why he had sealed the box containing his magazines.  
  
"I don't feel like reading them right now, Chii. And anyway, those are old issues now," he explained.  
  
P-Hideki saw Chii getting deflated somewhat so he took her into his arms and lay down on the mats.  
  
"I'd much rather spend more time with you, Chii," he said as he inhaled the scent of her hair, prompting her to snuggle up to him even more.  
  
"Goodnight, Chii!"  
  
"Goodnight, Hideki!"  
  
The two shared a deep kiss then fell asleep.  
  
Morning found P-Hideki and Chii repairing the collapsed beam in Ms. Hibiya's room. P-Hideki had temporarily propped up the new beam into place then went up into the room directly above it.  
  
"Chii, you stay here and make sure the pole stays in place. I'm going up to remove the weight that I bet is causing this collapse," P-Hideki directed.  
  
Indeed, he was sure that a certain piece of machinery or equipment was the cause of the collapse. He had gone into that room above Ms. Hibiya's quarters once before with Sumomo and that's where he found a network of wires, cables, and power conduits. Upon entering the room, he saw that he was right. A heavy piece of what seemed to be a power-transformer or regulator was slightly out of place, no doubt tilted as the floor and beam under it was the one that gave way.  
  
"Now how in the world do I move this?" he mused.  
  
P-Hideki decided to slide the piece of machinery back towards a more stable area near it so he could reinforce the flooring with new wood and a metal sheet. Judging from its appearance, he was sure that it was really heavy. He turned off the main switch so as not to damage anything then decided to use a lever of some sort so as to augment his effort. After finding a pole that seemed adequate, he shifted it into position and applied pressure on his end. P-Hideki was surprised when the structure moved rather easily. He started moving the various cables then proceeded to reinforce the floor area. As he worked, he found that the light from his lamp was inadequate so he went and restored power to the room. As the lights turned on, P-Hideki went back to his work. He finished quickly and rested for a few minutes as he inspected his work. As he sat, he looked around the room, making a mental note to inspect the whole area after he finished downstairs. He then repositioned the machinery back into the place where it was before. As he made final-checks, he saw the sticker where the specs were printed and what he read startled him. The power-regulator weighed a lot, 300 lbs. to be exact. P-Hideki recalled that he wasn't a fitness buff at all during his "other" life so how was he able to move it? He gingerly tried moving the said apparatus again. Incredibly, he was able to move it.  
  
P-Hideki was still lost in thought as he finished fixing the room below. He and Chii started tidying up the place. As they went on, his mind was still churning.  
  
"First, Chii's rescue, then the food, now this? What kind of persocom am I?" P-Hideki thought.  
  
His mind wandering, P-Hideki failed to see that his vacuum-nozzle nudged a crystal cat-figurine from its place. He wouldn't have noticed if Chii hadn't alerted him of it.  
  
"Hideki! You knocked something over!"  
  
"Huh?!! What?!! Ggnnyyaaahh!!" was all he could say as he snapped back into reality.  
  
But once again, P-Hideki felt himself zoning out the same way he did when he rescued Chii yesterday. He saw as he caught the figurine mere milliseconds before it hit the floor. He stood up and replaced the figurine.  
  
"You saved it, Hideki!" Chii enthused.  
  
"I know. And I still don't know how I did that," P-Hideki replied.  
  
"You mean it happened again, Hideki?" Chii asked.  
  
P-Hideki could only nod in assent as he was lost in thought about the whole thing.  
  
"What do we do now? You think this is a bad thing, Hideki?" Chii added.  
  
"I don't think it's bad but I guess there's only one way to find out," P- Hideki declared.  
  
"How?" Chii asked.  
  
"We ask your mother," P-Hideki replied 


End file.
